Kenya Archives - Page 2 of 3

IITA Eastern Africa Hub sets out agenda for Institute’s future in the region

The IITA Eastern Africa Hub organized a two and a half-day retreat for its staff in Nairobi, Kenya, with the theme ‘Beyond our vision—shaping our future, together!’ During the event, the hub team with members drawn from Kenya, Madagascar, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, looked at their past achievements, including the development of the first-ever East…

IITA Scientist elected to prestigious global science body

Leena Tripathi, a Principal Scientist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Deputy Director of IITA’s Eastern Africa hub has been elected as a fellow to the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Tripathi received this recognition because of her distinguished contribution to developing robust genetic transformation platforms for…

IITA joins other CGIAR centers to provide support to rebuild Somalia’s Agriculture sector

IITA and eight other CGIAR centers have met with officials from the Government of Somalia and several agriculture development partners to put together a plan to rehabilitate Somalia’s agricultural sector following years of conflict in the country. The meeting took place on 24 September at ICRAF offices in Nairobi, Kenya. Donor organizations with development programs…

“Pay attention to nematodes, they have adverse effects on African food security”, scientists warn

Although the world has fully turned its attention to climate change and is continually looking for ways of slowing down its effects on humans, plants, and animals, there is another consequence sneaking up—and no one seems to notice. This consequence is nematodes! Africa’s high population growth rate and rapid urbanization, coupled with climate change, has…

African agriculture needs more nematologists

Researchers from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenya in partnership with the Nematology Research Unit of Ghent University, Belgium carried out the first-ever structured survey on nematology in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study which was published in July 2019, in the journal Nematology, aimed at promoting nematology as a training and research discipline in SSA. Read…

IITA launches STEP at planning workshop

A 3-day planning workshop for the Start Them Early Program (STEP) is ongoing at IITA Headquarters, Ibadan. The purpose of the workshop is to launch STEP and make plans for its operations in the next one year. STEP is currently operating in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Nigeria, with the vision of transforming African…

IITA working on Africa’s first genome edited banana

The new frontier for agricultural innovation is genome editing and IITA is already leading the way by using the technology to improve several crops. Principal Scientist and Deputy Director of IITA East Africa Hub, Dr Leena Tripathi revealed this during the Third Africa Biennial Biosciences Communication Symposium (ABBC), which took place in Pretoria South Africa,…

Scientists discover best practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize

Scientists recommend best practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize

R4D Special IITA researchers, working with scientists from other agricultural institutions, have come up with a pre-harvest practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize. The practice was developed and outlined in a study in Kenya, which was carried out to document the rate at which aflatoxin contaminates physiologically mature maize in the field. Aflatoxins are…

IITA Youth Agripreneurs program wins international award for youth empowerment innovations

In recognition of its commitment to improving both agribusiness opportunities and creditworthiness of youth across Africa, the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) program has been awarded the 2019 International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. The award, the first of its kind, is funded by the Government of Switzerland and was presented, in conjuction with…

Picture of participants at the high table

aflasafe KE01TM launched in Kenya; private sector asked to invest in the technology

Good news for maize farmers in Kenya and indeed Africa! The biocontrol product aflasafe KE01™, an innovative, safe, and effective technology for controlling aflatoxin contamination, was launched on 4 October at a ceremony at the Kenyan Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization (KALRO). aflasafe KE01TM has proven effective in reducing aflatoxin contamination by 70–80% in trials…